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GREENS FACE CHOICE: TO BACK GRIMES, OR NOT: Green donors have a choice to make with Kentucky’s Democratic Secretary of State Alison Grimes: Overlook her support for coal and her disdain for EPA, or leave her on her own in the contest against Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell. That dilemma will test how far green-minded groups and donors will veer from the their core agenda in order to help the Democratic Party in Washington as part of their broader effort to support the Obama administration’s climate and EPA agenda. Darren Goode has more on what environmental groups and green-minded donors are thinking: http://politico.pro/17Ihmsr

Pullquote: “It is far better to win the Senate than have every senator on the same page.” That’s Susie Tompkins Buell, a major Democratic donor who hosted a fundraiser for Grimes at her California home last month.

LAST DAY: Pros got this news last night: Today is Heather Zichal’s last day at the White House. Zichal has served as President Barack Obama’s climate change adviser since early 2011. The White House announced last month that Zichal would be stepping down, but her replacement has not yet been named. Zichal told POLITICO her immediate plans involve surfing classes and beach time, but that she'll work on some clean energy and environmental projects before making longer-term plans. In case you need a refresher on Zichal’s work at the White House — and the names of potential successors: http://politico.pro/1bRppRR

AND THE ENERGY NOMS KEEP ON COMING: There have been a lot of energy nominations coming out of the White House this week, and now there’s even more names to add.

Interior: President Barack Obama has nominated Tommy Beaudreau to be the Interior Department’s assistant secretary for policy, management and budget and Neil Kornze to be Interior’s director of the bureau of land management. Beaudreau is already working at DOI as acting assistant secretary for land and minerals management, as well as director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Kornze is currently the senior advisor in the Bureau of Land Management at DOI, where he has been since 2011. He worked for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid from 2003 to 2011.

— Conservation groups were pretty happy about Kornze’s nomination; ME got statements of congratulations from the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, the Western Values Project, Conservation Colorado — and of course, Secretary Sally Jewell herself, who said Kornze "supports efforts to foster economic opportunities through safe and responsible energy development and increased access to the nation’s system of conservation lands."

EPA: Also nominated: Thomas A. Burke to be assistant administrator for research and development at the EPA. Burke is associate dean for public health practice and training at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

SHUTDOWN DISRUPTED ENERGY WORLD — OMB REPORT: The 16-day government shutdown caused economic disruption throughout the energy industry, from oil and gas drilling to efforts to clean up nuclear waste, the White House Office of Management and Budget said Thursday. For instance, the report says BLM was unable to process 200 applications for permits to drill on federal lands in several states, and had to postpone oil and gas lease sales as well. Talia Buford breaks it down: http://politico.pro/1guIcGU

MARK YOUR CALENDAR, PART 1: The House Energy and Power Subcommittee will hold a hearing on EPA’s proposed emissions rule for new power plants and yet-to-be-introduced legislation from Rep. Ed Whitfield and Sen. Joe Manchin’s to undercut EPA’s authority to enact those regulations (refresher on that legislation: http://politico.pro/1g82sxS). EPA air chief Janet McCabe is expected to testify. It will be Nov. 14 at 9:30 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR, PART 2: At roughly the same time, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy will testify before the House Science Committee on “strengthening transparency and accountability within the Environmental Protection Agency.” That’s Nov. 14 at 10 a.m. in 2318 Rayburn.

NOW WE’RE JUST WAITING FOR THE RACHEL ACT: Sens. David Vitter and Michael Bennet have introduced a bill exempting some programs, including the RESTORE Act, from the effects of sequestration because those funds don't reduce the deficit. The Return Our State Shares (ROSS) Act, which has bipartisan support, exempts accounts like the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund, the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program and payments made under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act and the Mineral Leasing Act — meaning payouts will no longer be delayed. Bill text: http://1.usa.gov/1aI07Yp

** The energy industry supports 9.8 million American jobs. And every job created by the energy industry creates nearly three more indirect and induced jobs across the economy. This year alone, Chevron is investing $8.9 billion in U.S. energy projects. See more on how energy moves our economy forward. http://www.chevron.com/energyeconomy **

ECONOMISTS SAY RINS ARE DOING THEIR JOB: Two Iowa State University economists are defending Renewable Identification Numbers as doing their intended purpose of tracking compliance with EPA’s Renewable Fuel Standard. A surge in RINs prices earlier this year “have led some to conclude that there must be something wrong with either the RIN market or the” RFS, Bruce Babcock and Sebastien Pouliot wrote in a paper on the university’s Center for Agricultural and Rural Development website. “Rather than being a sign that something was wrong with RIN markets or the RFS, the surge in RIN prices in 2013 did what RIN prices are supposed to do: they signaled that mandates in 2014 and 2015 were going to be costly to achieve. The cure for high compliance costs is investment in E85 and E15 infrastructure, which, in turn, would allow for the higher future biofuel consumption levels that are envisioned in current policy.” More: http://bit.ly/HDsBpV

IHS REPORT ON OIL SANDS GETS BOOST FROM E&C: An IHS CERA report released this week on oil sands issues and environmental regulations got a signal boost yesterday from House Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans, who blasted it out with a statement touting GOP legislation related to Keystone XL and other cross-boundary energy infrastructure projects. The IHS report, which updates a 2009 paper, concludes that Canadian oil sands petroleum will be critical to U.S. crude supply, despite growing U.S. production, and that oil sands have more regulation and oversight than four years ago. The report also concludes that oil sands crude doesn't pose a greater pipeline risk than other oil, and that aggregate greenhouse gas emissions "are lower than often perceived." IHS report: http://bit.ly/1c36FgU. E&C statement: http://1.usa.gov/1bdU9JK

Foreign payment disclosure: The American Petroleum Institute says the Securities and Exchange Commission can rewrite its rule on public disclosures of payments made to foreign governments for resource extractions (a Dodd-Frank rule that was recently vacated by a federal judge) without hurting energy companies or investors. API's letter makes a number of suggestions on rewriting the rule. Letter: http://bit.ly/1au0f7S

PTC: The Governors' Wind Energy Coalition would like Congress to get a move-on in extending the renewable energy production tax credit. Letter: http://bit.ly/1aI7nnc

Black lung: House Democrats want the Labor Department's inspector general to look into “allegations of misconduct by doctors and lawyers working on behalf of the coal industry that has resulted in coal miners being improperly denied health-related benefits and compensation to which they are entitled.” Their letter: http://1.usa.gov/1guWfwn

— Secretary of State John Kerry is getting involved in talks over Iran's nuclear weapons program — and the country is looking to loosen restrictions on oil and gas sales. Reuters: http://reut.rs/1fnjd5l